A delivery ceremony for a fleet of battery-swapping electric trucks is held in the Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone on Aug 18. [Photo/WeChat account: shlgguanweihui]

The first batch of battery-swapping electric heavy-duty trucks in Shanghai was delivered to the megacity's Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone on Aug 18, local media reported.

The trucks feature rapidly exchanged batteries that can dramatically extend the range of the vehicles and their usefulness in industrial applications.

Zone officials said the battery-swapping process takes only 3-5 minutes, ensuring the operational efficiency of the trucks. At the same time, different battery packs can be flexibly changed according to the working conditions – to reduce the truck's body weight and improve the effective utilization rate of different-sized battery assets.

More than 10 logistics companies were invited to the delivery ceremony to sign a proposal, which advocates deploying clean energy vehicles to build Lin-gang into a green transport demonstration area.

The battery-swapping trucks are mainly suitable for special line transport, short regional transport, port area transport and factory area transport.

Officials said the use of battery-swapping electric trucks can improve the utilization rate of urban land resources.

They said the standard battery-swapping station covers about 300 square meters, much smaller than the power charging stations for common electric heavy-duty trucks.